UPDATE Romania's Halep progresses to Wimbledon ladies' singles fourth round

Romanian tennis player Simona Halep on Friday advanced to the fourth round of the ladies' singles event of the Wimbledon grand slam tournament after defeating Belarusian Victoria Azarenka 6-3 6-1 in a match between two former world number one players. Halep, 27, world number seven, prevailed in an hour and 6 minutes. For advancing to the fourth round, she won 176,000 British pounds and 240 WTA singles points. Azarenka, 29, world number 40, started well and led 3-1 after a break point, but then she ran out of luck. Halep, with a varied game, won six consecutive games to win the first set, 6-3, and then she led 1-0 in the second set. After 1-1 in the second set, Halep won five straight games, winning 6-3 6-1. Halep scored nine unforced errors, compared to Azarenka's 33. She did not double fault, unlike Azarenka, who double-faulted three times. The two players had met four times previously, with the head-to-head count a 2-2 tie. Halep defeated Azarenka at the 2017 edition of Wimbledon. In the fourth round, Halep will play the winner between world number 313, US Cori Gauff, 15, and world number 60, Slovenian Polona Hercog, 28. AGERPRES (RO - author: Mircea Lazaroniu, editor: Adrian Dragut; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Adina Panaitescu)